Chapter 2 – Part 4

With his arms crossed, Vale looked anxiously to the left and right, then to the right, until he spotted a woman.

“What is the matter?”

“Please, help me.”

Anne lowered her gaze to where the man’s hand was pointing.

She lightly touched his arm with her fingers, and he winced in surprise and pain.

Anne could see at once what was bothering him.

“You have a twisted bone, right?”

Nodding urgently, Vale knelt down in front of Anne, who looked at him with genuine concern, and begged.

“Please fix it.”

“Wait….”

Vale dropped to his knees in one swift motion, and Anne worried that he might hurt his leg.

Soon Anne realized the man was not in his right mind and grabbed a medic who was passing by.

“Do you know how to set a bone?”

“Yes, I know how.”

“Then take this patient and fix his arm. Where were you heading?”

“I was taking the orders to the commander.”

Anne paused at the medic’s words, but she was no good at setting bones, so she grabbed the order and said.

“I’ll handle the order forms. Can you set his arm?”

“Yes!”

The booming medic replied, and Vale turned thoughtful and grabbed Anne.

“I, I’d like to be treated by this lady.”

“What?”

“You’re Anne Riley, right?”

Vale’s main concern was that if Evan visited and Anne wasn’t there, the commander would be displeased. His pleading eyes reflected his anxiety.

“Yes, I am, but I’m not skilled at setting bones.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Anne looked over Vale’s shoulder at the man who had appeared.

“Evan Davis….”

Anne muttered his name to herself, and Vale jumped and grabbed her leg.

Rather than being offended by the stranger’s continued rudeness, Anne felt… pity for some reason.

Gently, Anne loosened Vale’s grip on her leg and spoke.

“Your injuries must be causing you to be anxious, so I’ll stay with you, but first you need to get some medical attention.”

“Anne.”

A gruff voice echoed in Anne’s ear.

“Commander, as you can see, I’m busy right now, so if you could…”

Evan looked uncomfortable and crossed his arms.

“It’s not typical for someone who receives a salary to dictate the schedule, is it? Isn’t that right, Anne Riley?”

Evan’s sarcastic tone and the way he gritted his teeth reminded her of their previous kiss, where she had looked at him with awe and longing. It was not a feeling that could be dismissed as mere payment.

Evan’s shock was palpable when he traced back to whoever had started the damned rumor.

“Why are you here? You didn’t come all this way for me, did you?”

Anne tried to sound nonchalant. She knew why he was upset, but she avoided his gaze, reminding herself again and again that this was only for this moment.

“I heard my man was injured, so I came to check on him. Also, it’s time for us to leave soon. Our expedition to the Calohas region is in ten days.”

Anne didn’t respond, just stood there, trying to look like she was fine.

She knew she had to leave for Calohas soon. But she hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

Anne smiled brightly.

“Okay, well, I guess I’d better get my affairs in order here, so….”

“You’re asking me to move aside?”

“Yes.”

Evan laughed lowly at Anne’s answer.

“Unfortunately, we leave in three hours. It takes about three days to reach the Colohas region.”

“What!”

Anne’s attempt to stay composed crumbled. The time was too short to say her goodbyes.

“I already told you in writing.”

In writing? Anne hadn’t received any such documentation recently.

Whether he was lying or the document had genuinely been lost, one thing was clear.

She would have to leave this field hospital with an uneasy mind.

Anne thought quietly for a moment.

The Calohas region is higher in altitude than the rest of the country, with a long series of valleys. It was a military stronghold for many reasons, and it was close to the surrounding combat zones.

It was also close to the surrounding combat zones for a number of reasons, including the fact that it was in the center of a lot of the pushing and shoving.

Going to Calohas meant leaving the rear and going into the frontline..

Anne smiled bitterly as she realized that she would not be able to leave a letter for the people she had been so grateful to.

“Then I’ll get ready. Don’t forget to discuss the blood transfusions when we return.”

“I will.”

After a long look at Evan, who nodded with his arms crossed, Anne headed for the infirmary.

On one side of the treatment room, all the medics’ medical kits were neatly arranged. Anne pulled out the one labeled with her name.

As she silently slung the kit, which was larger than her upper body, onto her shoulders, she slipped a note with a simple farewell into Kyle’s cabinet.

Sunlight streamed through the window frame and flooded the treatment room.

She turned around, hand under her brow, blinded, and caught sight of Evan.

He had followed Anne to the treatment room and was leaning against the door, watching her.

“As always… going directly to a combat zone requires one to be prepared for death. Aren’t you afraid?”

“I’m fine.”

Evan’s eyes narrowed, and then he broke into a blood-curdling laugh.

“Fearless.”

Smiling softly, Evan moved slowly toward her.

Even soldiers who went through hellish training every day were afraid to put on their armor.

But this woman had her hands on the straps as if she didn’t care, supporting the weight under her own power.

“Evan, what the hell do you want?”

“Are we on a first-name basis now? I don’t mind.”

“It makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it? If you don’t want me to call you by your name, listen to what I have to say.”

“Huh?”

“Seriously.”

Evan smiled sheepishly. Anne had assumed he didn’t like being called by his first name because of their status, but he hadn’t.

“Even if you act rudely, others will think it’s just a lover’s quarrel. On top of that, you’ll be labeled as a woman who can’t discern time and place. Why spread such rumors yourself? Were you afraid I wouldn’t pay you?”

Evan pressed Anne, even though he already knew the answer.

What she really wants is not so much money. It wasn’t the man, either.

Evan furrowed his brow at the unsolvable problem.

All he wanted to do was find a way to continue to get along with this woman who ran away whenever he tried to tie her down.

“Answer me.”

After a long silence, as Evan touched her lower lip, Anne stepped back and answered.

“A Duke who pays for company. A commander who enjoys a night with a woman near the battlefield. None of these labels seem out of place here. If you’re offended… I’m sorry.”

Anne bowed her head deeply at Evan’s sinking gaze.

It was unnecessary to add that a commoner woman would have been more useful to him than rumors of a serious relationship with a duke.

Evan approached slowly, lifting the tip of her bowed chin to meet Anne’s eyes.

“Anne Riley.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know why I was able to get this position?”

Evan smirked as he ruffled Anne’s red hair.

“Because you’re skilled, I suppose.”

“Of course I have the skills, but I’m also a pretty good judge of character. I can see enough to know that you’ve been lying to me for some time now.”

Anne stiffened, her body swaying under the weight of her kit.

Evan caught her, his arm firmly around her waist, pulling her close.

Anne was dangling from his arm, the proximity unsettling her.

“I’m not lying!”

“Yeah, well, even if you are, I’ve been recognized by those in high places for this ability, and I’ve been ordered by His Majesty to hunt down the rats that have infiltrated the Terran Empire. Am I supposed to report you as a spy to the higher-ups because you keep lying?”

Anne bit her lip; this man was talking to her, hiding his true nature.

Surely this man knows that Anne’s lies are not about being a “spy”.

It’s blackmail.

“Let go of me.”

“No. I’m not letting you go until I get an answer.”